Box crusher



July 19, 1932. N. H. SANDBERG 1,867,597

BOX CRUSHER Filed July 8. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l dttozmqal N. H. SANDBERG BOX CRUSHER July 19, 1932.

Filed July 8, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 19, 1932 .UNETED. STATES PATENT OFFICE NELS H. SAINQDBERG, F MINNEAPOLIS, INNEsoTA, Assmnon T0 wnnnonr PAPER PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, A conrona'rrolv OF INNESOTA Box CRUSI-IER Application filed July 8, .1929. Seria1bI To.-376,797.

ll'i'y invention relates to box crushers and has for its object to provide a box crusher emloying a pair of belts arranged in converging relation with respect to one another, both 5 of said belts being driven in a direction .toward the locality of convergence thereof.

Another object of the invention resides in arranging one of said belts in a substantially horizontal position and in disposing the other of said belts in superimposing inclined position above said first named belt.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a framework straddling said first namedbelt, said framework having a portion 15 superimposing said belt and in mounting for rotation in the superimposed portion of said framework a shaft, and in further pivoting to said shaft a sub-frame having a second shaft journaled in the lower end thereof, said-sub-frame being movable toward and from said first named belt, said shafts hav- .ing rollers mounted thereon adapted to carry said second named belt.

An object of the invention resides in Weighting the lowermost roller to force the lower portion of the second belt toward the first belt.

A. still further object of the invention resides in providing an auxiliary roller for taking up the tension in said second'belt, said auxiliary roller being pivoted to the shaft at the lower end of said sub-frame and serving further to add-to the weight on the lower end of said second belt.

Another object of the inventioniresides in.

providing resilient means for retarding -movement of the free end of said sub-frame upon the arrival of said second belt at-the surface of said first belt. V

A still further object of the invention resides in constructing the superimposed portion of said framework with a pair of longitudinal frame members lying along each side of said belts and with a third longitudinal frame member disposed outwardly from one of said first named longitudinal frame members. and in mounting upon said last two longitudinalframe members a motor.

An object in the invention resides in positioning across said last two frame members a countershaft driven by saidmotor, and .a jack shaft driven from said counter shaft.

A still further object of the, invention resides in extending across the longitudinal frame members positioned adjacent eachside of said belts another counter shaft and in providing a drive, from said jack shaft through said second counter shaft and to said 7 second roller shaft.

An object of the invention'resides in'providinga separate drive from said for. said first named belt.

A feature of the inventionv resides in pro: viding the drive for said second named roller shaft. with a revoluble member concentric with the first named roller shaft Other objects of the invention residein the 7 Jack shaft details of" construction thereof and inthe novel combination and arrangement of parts herein after illustrated or described.

In the drawings r Fig; l-is a plan viewof a box crusher illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 215a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

My invention proper comprises primarily two belts 10 and 11 which are supported upona suitable frame structure A, saidbelts being constructed and supported in the manner customary withordinary endless travel-- 'ing conveyors. The 'belt llmay be a portion of a traveling conveyorand such device being welllrnown inthe art has only been, partly illustrated in the drawings. This belt'consists of a lower run12 and an upper run.13

which passes'over a suitable roller 14 mounted upon a shaft'15 journaled in bearings attached to the said framestructure.

The frame structure Aconsists of a' number of uprights 16, 1-7, 18, 19, 20 and 21whichare connected together at their lower ends by means of angles 22 servingas base members forsupporting the'same inuprightfposition and for tying the said uprights togather. These uprights have attached to them, intermediate their ends, longitudinal frame members 23 and 24 which are securely riveted thereto and which form a rest, for a transversely disposed plate 25 positioned therebetween' and extending from the lips to said frame members.

right 16 to the upright 18. The upper run 13 of the belt 11 rests directly upon this plate which forms a suitable support for preventing the same from sagging intermediate its ends. The plate 25 may be further reinforced bymeans of cross angles 26 secured to the angles 23 and 24. Theuprights 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 straddle the beltll and the uprights 16, 17, 19 and 20 extend upwardly above the said belt as best shown in Fig. 2. .To the upper ends of these latter upright-s is attachedsa superstructure comprising three longitudinal frame members 27,

28 and 29 which are attached to two transverse frame members 30 and 31. The uprights 16, 17, 19 and 20 are preferably in the nature of channels and have secured to the flanges thereof short clip angles 32 which have the flanges of the same facing in the opposite direction from the webs of the said uprights and to which the two longitudinal frame members28and 29 are rigidly secured. The cross fram-e members 30 and 31. may be channel shaped beams and rest directly upon the longitudinal beams 27, 28 and 29.

For supporting the protruding ends of beams 30 and 31 two additional uprights 33 and 34 are employed which are riveted to the ends of said beams and which extend down to the surface on which the uprights 16 to 21, inclusive, rest. Where the device is installed adjacent the wall of the building the uprights 33 and 34 maybe positioned adiacent such wall. or'brackets or other'suitable structures used in place thereof.

The shaft 15 supporting the roller 14 is journaled in two bearings 35 and 36 attached to brackets 37 mounted on the uprights 18 and 21'. These bearings are rigidly secured to the said brackets and support the roller 14 in a position to bring the upper run 13 of belt 11 upon the top of the plate 25 so that all of the pressure imparted to the said belt in the crushing of saidboxes is taken up by the said plate and the supporting structure therefor. The other end of the belt 11 is similarly mounted on a roller not shown, and additional supports intermediate the ends of the plate may be provided similar to the plate 25, or suitable-supporting rollers placed at proper intervals may be used inli-eu thereof and in lieu of the plate 25, if'preferred. The angles 23. 24 besides supporting the 'plate 25 and the upper run 13 of belt 11 also serve to retainthe upper run of said belt in lateral position with respect to the frame structure of the invention.

The upper belt 10 is supported as follows: Across the two longitudinal frame members 27 and 28 and adjacent the uprights 16 and 19 extends a"shaft 38. This shaft is journaled in two bearings 39 and 40 attached mounted a roller 41 which may be keyed to 'the said shaft or which may idle upon the Upon this shaft is.

same, as desired. Straddling roller 41 is a forked member 42 which is constructed with two arms 43 and 44 connected by an intermediate portion 45 and terminating in bearings 46 and 47 ournaled on the shaft 38 ad jacent the-bearings 39 and 40. The forked member 42 is constructed with a number of lugs 48 issuing outwardly therefrom to which are secured a number of longitudinal frame members 49 forming in conjunction therewith a sub-frame which I have indicated in its entirety at 50. The other ends of the longitudinal frame members 49 are similarly connected to a forked member 51 which is constructed with arms 52 and 53 and an interconnecting portion 54 similar to the arms 43 and 44 and the interconnecting portion 45 of the forked member 42. The arms 52 and 53 terminate in bearings 55 and 56 similar to the bearings 46 and 47 which journal another shaft .57. The shaft 57 has mounted on it a roller 58 similar to the roller 41 which is keyed to the said shaft for a purpose to be presently described. The belt 10 passes around thetwo rollers 41 and 58 and is carried thereby." The longitudinal frame mem bers 49 have attached to them along the under sides thereof a plate 59 similar to the plate 25 of belt 11 which plate lies in close proximity to the lower run 60 of belt 10,

the upper run 61 thereof being free. This plate together with the frame members 49 assists in taking up the stressimparted to the belt 10 when the boxes are being crushed. It is to be noted that the sub-frame 50 and other parts mounted thereon are supported solely upon the shaft 38. By means of this tached to the'ends of two arms 65 and 66.

Arms 65 and 66 terminate at their other ends inother bearings 67 and 68 which are pivoted upon endsofthe shaft 57 adjacent the bearings 55 and 56. The roller 62 is preferably weighted and when positioned as shown in Fig.2 exerts a downward pressure upon the upper run 61 of belt 10 which causes said belt to snugly hug the two rollers 41 and 58 so as to effect the drive of the said belt upon the rotation of .one of said rollers.

For driving the various belts forming portions of my invention, I employ an electric 'motor 69 which is mounted upon two short beams 70 and 71 attached to the longitudinal 7 frame members 28 and 29. This motor is po- Isitioned intermediate the. ends of the said 'framemembers and the shaft 72 thereof has attached to it a sprocket wheel 173-from which the belts of'the invention are driven. Forwardly of the motor 69. is disposed a counter shaft 73 which extends across the frame members 28 and 29' and which is j ournaled in two bearings 74 and 75 secured thereto. This shaft carries a sprocket wheel 76 which is driven from the sprocket wheel 173 on motor shaft 72 through a sprocket chain 77. Forwardly of shaft 73 is disposed a. jack shaft 78 which similarly extends across the frame members 28 and 29 and which is journaled in bearings 79 and 80 attached to the complished as follows: Upon the end of the shaft 15 'is attached a sprocket wheel 83 while on the shaft 78 is attached another sprocket wheel 84 in alignment with the sprocketwheel 83. A chain 85 passes over these two sprockets and gives the shaft 15 aclockwise rotation when viewed as shown in Fig. 2 to cause the upper run 13 of belt 11 to move in the direction of the arrow.

. The belt 10 is driven from the jack shaft 78in the following manner: Across thetwo frame members a 27 and 28 extends a'transverse shaft 86 which is journaled in two bearings 87 and 88 attached to said frame members. This shafthas secured to it a sprocket wheel 89 while the shaft 78 has similarly secured to it a sprocket wheel 90 aligning with said first named sprocket wheel. A sprocket chain 91 passes over both of these sprocket wheels and drives the shaft 86 from. the shaft 78 in the same direction of rotation as said shaft 78. The shaft 38 previously-referred to as supporting the roller 41 and the upper end of the sub-frame 50 extends outwardly beyond the bearing 39 and supports thereon spur gear92 and a sprocket wheel '93. These two members are rigidly connected together and rotate idly upon the said shaft, said members being retained in place thereon through a collar 94. The spur gear 92 meshes with another spur gear 95 on the end of shaft 86 giving the sprocket wheel 93 a counter clockwise rotation. The shaft 57 which simports the lower roller 58 also extends outwardly. beyond thebearings 56 and 68 and has attached to it a sprocket wheel 96 aligning with t 1e sprocket wheel 93. A. chain 97 passes over both iofthese sprocket wheels and drives the roller 58 from the sprocket wheel 93 which causes the said roller to also travel lower run' 60 of belt 10 travel in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 2. The sprocket wheel 93 being mounted uponthe same shaft on which the sub-frame 50 is pivoted permits of swinging said sub-frame from its lower most position as shownin-full lines in Fig.

2 to its uppermost'position, as shown in dotted lines at 98in the same view without affecting-the driving of the roller 58 and the belt 10.

In the operation of the device, paper boxes and sn'nilar artlcles formed of paper which are ordinarily in clumsy and awkward form, are placed on the upper run 18 of belt 11. As

the said belt continues to travel in thedirection of the arrows the boxes become wedged of crushing andfiattening the boxes when they reach the converging portions of the said belts. The belt 10 normally lies close to the belt 11, the end rollers 58 and 14 thereof being superimposed. Asthe flattened boxes 2 reach the converging portions of these belts,

the entiresub-fra'me 50 together with the belt 10 and the other appurtenances connected therewith are bodilyswung about the shaft 38 as a pivot, causingthe flattened'boxto be discharged between said belts at the.discharge ends thereof designated at 99 in Fig. 2. For the purpose of providing sufficient force for flattening the boxes the roller 58 which is preferably constructed of sheet metal, may be weighted by filling the same with concrete or any other suitable substance.

The roller 62 may likewise be weighted to cause the same to produce a proper tension in the belt, at the same time assistingin forcing the sub-frame 50 downwardly.

For the purpose of reducing the movement of the belt 10 toward the belt 11 when nearing the positionthereofshown in Fig. 2, I employ a resilient member which I have designated at 100.. This member, is p.refer-- in a counterclockwise direction making the in between the said run of belt 11 and the 7 lower run 60 of belt 10. This hasthe "effect ably in the nature of a coil spring and is're- V tained within a cage or framework 101 preferably-attached to'the ceiling 102 of the building in which thedevice is installed or to any othersuitable superstructure. The

spring 100rests upon a seatl03formed'on the cage 101 which'has extending through it a bolt 104 formed atone end with an eye 105 and threaded at its other end to receive a nut 106. Upon the other end of the spring 100 is mounted a cupped washer 107 i which bears against the'said spring and against the nut 106 of bolt 104. Upon drawing the 'bolt 104 downwardly the spring 100 is compressed. The eye 105 of bolt 104has' attached to it two cables 108 which are secured to eyes 109 and 110 attached to thebearings 55 and 56. The tension on the spring 100 B regulated through the'lengthr of the .cables l08 an'd nut 10cm cause the said spring to iii) the belt as thecrusher is operated.

articles to pass between the belts. the rollers for the two belts at the same end thereof being positively driven from the exert an upward force on the sub-frame 50 when the same is in its lowermost position. As .soon asthesub-frame travels upwardly a short distance the tension of the spring 100 is released and slack occurs in the cables 108 which causes all of the weight of the said sub-frame and rollers attached thereto to be effective in crushing the boxes and other structures entering in between the two belts l0 and 11. As the boxes leave the discharge end 99 of the box crusher the spring 100 serves to slacken the return movement of the sub-frame 50, to prevent injuryto the various parts of the apparatus. 7

My invention is highly advantageous in that a simple and positive device isprovided which will quickly and effectively crush paper boxes in a manner to flatten and compact the same. The device will operateupon any box or similar structure not exceeding the maximum spacing between the two belts thereof. In the event of the box being of too rigid character to be crushed by the device, the same will pass completely through the crusher without injuring any of the parts thereof or without stopping the device ,or rendering the same. otherwise inoperable. The crushing effect uponthe boxes progressively increases so that a minimum amount of power, is required for operating the device, thereby permitting the running of the belts at agreater rate of speed than would otherwise be possible. The movable belt being driven from the lower end thereof causes the lower run of said belt to be in tension, thereby preventing slippage and buckling of By pivoting the belt along the same axis as the drive member for said belt, the driving of the belt is unaffected as the supporting structure therefor swings to permit the boxes and other Both of same jack shaft insures the same operating speed for both belts, thereby eliminating slippage and abrasion of the belts.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departin from the spirit ofmy invention.

aving described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: r

1. A box crusher comprising a substantially horizontal belt, a framework straddling said belt, said framework including a superstructure, a shaft journalled in said superstructure, a plate extending between said framework and inclining downwardly toward said belt, bearings. secured to said plate and journalledon said shaft, a roller carried by said shaft, bearings secured to the other end of said plate, a shaft journalled in said bearings, and a second roller mounted on said shaft, and a belt extending over said rollers, said belt having a run thereof lying adjacent said plate.

2. A box crusher comprisinga substantially horizontal belt, a framework straddling said belt and having a portion extending above the same, a shaft journalled in said framework above said belt, a subframe pivoted on said shaft, a roller mounted on said shaft, a second shaft journalled at the opposite end of said sub-frame, a second roller mounted on said second shaft, and a belt passing over said rollers, the second roller being weighted to force the free end of said second belt toward said first belt.

3 A box crusher comprising a substantially horizontal belt, a frame structure positioned above said horizontal belt, a shaft journalled in said frame structure, a subframe pivoted to said shaft and extending over said horizontalbelt, the end of said subframe remote from-said shaft being movable toward and from said belt, a second shaft disposed at the movable end of said subframe,rollers mounted on said shafts, a belt extending around said rollers, an auxiliary roller engaging. said belt on the upper. run thereof, and means for pivoting said auxiliary roller on said second named shaft, said auxiliary roller and said second named roller serving to weight said sub-frame to force the lower run of said second named belt toward the first named belt.

l. A box crusher comprising'a carrier, a second carrier superimposing said first carrier and movable toward and from said first carrier, means for continuously urging said second named carrier toward said first named carrier, "and means inoperative throughout the major portion of the movement of said carrier for retarding the movement of said urging means, said retarding means becoming operative upon the second carrier coming into close proximity to said first carrier.

5. A box crusher. comprising a carrier, a second carrier superimposing said first carrier and movable toward'and from said first carrier, a weighted member for urging said second named carrier toward said first carrier, and a spring inoperative throughout the major portion of the movement of said carrier for retarding the force of said weighted member, said spring coming into action upon the second named carrier coming into'close proximity to said first carrier.

6. A box crusher comprising a carrier, a second carrier pivoted at one end to guide the other end thereof for swinging movement toward and from said first named carrier, a revoluble member engaging the upper run of said swingable carrier, said revoluble member beingweighted to tighten saidswingable carrier, said revoluble member being disposed at the swingableend of said carrier to urge the same toward: said'first named carrier.

7 A box crusher comprising a carrier, a frame structure positioned above said carrier, an auxiliary frame pivoted at one end to said frame structure to cause the free end thereof to swing toward and from said carrier, a shaft at each end of said auxiliary frame, an endless carrier supported by said shafts, arms pivoted to the shaft at the free end of said auxiliary frame, a revoluble mem-- ber pivoted in said arms, and adapted to engage said endless carrier, said revoluble memher being weighted to simultaneously tighten said endless carrier and to move said frame structure toward said first named carrier.

8. A box crusher comprising an endless carrier, a second endless carrier superimposing said first carrier and having a shaft at each end thereof, means for pivoting said second endless carrier through said one shaft to cause the other shaft to move toward and from said first named carrier, a driving member loose upon said first named shaft, driving means secured to said second named shaft 1 for driving said endless carrier, and means for driving the driving means upon the first named shaft.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature to this specification.

' NELS H. SANDBERG. 

